


Samantha and Sunshine

by Kawaii_Chibi_InuDemon



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-06
Updated: 2020-11-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:08:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 17,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27416260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kawaii_Chibi_InuDemon/pseuds/Kawaii_Chibi_InuDemon
Summary: Sam has a twin sister, Sunshine, and while they don't get along as her sister is a blond headed twit when her sister comes to her in the middle of the night with a plea to get rid of the ghost that is in her room. Sam complies when her sister threatens to go to their mother with some rather condemning details that could land the 17 year old in a school of their mother's choosing, but when she enters her room the ghost before her is none other than Dan! He's injured and what's more is what he tells her happened to him while in the clock tower... Can they figure out what is going on in the clock tower and what has happened to Clock Tower before this mysterious enemy does what they came to do?
Relationships: Danny Fenton/Sam Manson
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

It was dark in the large room where she lay, her amethyst eyes wide as she stared at the ceiling. It had been a long day and she should be asleep, but for some unknown reason she was still awake. Sighing she sat up, scooting back so she could lean against the headboard of her large bed. It had been the last day of high school, something she had dreamed of and longed for since she had started going to school. It wasn't because she hated school, but because she hated the people she went to school with. They had caused her nothing but pain and misery, but far worse than that because her friend had suffered grievously and for no reason other than the kids, teens now, were rich. Rich offspring sometimes thought themselves better than others and felt the need to prove it.

"Seems that I am an oddity again," the raven haired beauty sighed. She was in that right and others. Her parents were wealthy thanks to an ancestor that had invented something as obscure as a deli toothpick wrapping machine or whatever it had been. She wasn't sure it was something to be proud of, but it was her fate to be the heiress to such a fortune. She loathed it. That title was nothing to her and she had refused it from the beginning. Her parents had produced only two children, twins, the pair of them with her being the oldest of the two females. She was to inherit it all while her sister, the youngest by mere minutes, would be whatever her heart wished. Sighing she closed her eyes just as her door burst open to reveal her fraternal twin. The other teen was not dark haired like Sam, no, her own hair was as golden as the sun rays that the other teen played in while Sam was part of the darkness, her dislike of the bright ball of fire obvious. Her sister's name was Sunshine, named aptly for her golden locks. The dark haired teen sighed again as her younger sibling crawled into her bed quickly. Sunshine was also a twit, or well, like the other prissy females that Sam had grown up around.

"What are you doing up at this hour?" Sam hissed as she looked at her open door, the light from the hallway spilling into her dark abode.

"There is a monster in my room!" the other female squeaked as she began to push her sister before her. "You know how to fight them!" She shoved at Sam making the other twin growl low. Her sister was so freaking annoying and although it was true that Sam had dealt with the ghosts and monsters that plagued their town she didn't want to help her sister. The teen female should learn to fight herself as Sam didn't plan on staying around much longer, not with their eighteenth birthday long past. The raven haired teen turned to her sister, her eyes narrowing as she glared into her sister's teal eyes.

"We have talked about this before, Shine. You should take care of it yourself!" Sam was thoroughly annoyed. First, she had to deal with all the people at the Graduation, her being the valedictorian and all, and then she couldn't sleep, a problem that had kept her up more recently than not and now her sister demanded that she take care of an issue in her room. Sunshine whimpered as she scooted back. Sam knew it was all an act, though her sister did despise the unearthly creatures known as ghosts or specters. Of course she did like one ghost, most of the females at her school did, well, save for her. Sam liked him, he was her best friend of course, but the other teenagers fell at his feet when he was in his fighting form while in his human form he was someone to push around.

"Take care of him or I will tell mom that you destroyed another one of her dresses she bought for you," the blond muttered angrily. The raven haired teen sighed in frustration. Their mother was aware that her oldest ruined all her clothing, but had threatened charm school the next time it happened. Sam shuddered. She could leave the house, but she had to wait as she would need some funds to move out. That was something she had to wait another year for. Her grandmother, the nicest woman anyone had ever met, had passed on when the sisters had turned fifteen and had left a large amount of money for the twins. Their grandmother had favored Sam more as she looked and acted as the elder lady had long ago, opting for dark clothing, rough attitude and a lack of love for riches and wealth. Sure, Sam hated all of it, but she knew she would need whatever little money her grandmother had left her to move out of the wretched Pleasantville house.

Getting up she headed for the other room across the hall. It was the same size as Sam's, but pink wallpaper adorned the large room whereas the raven haired teen's were black and red to match her bedsheets. As Sam walked around the room she failed to notice any such specter until she turned the corner of the large pink bed, the lamp that usually rested on the bedside table on the ground a few feet from her, the ceramic lighting accessory smashed to bits on the floor where a white glove appeared from behind the bed. The raven haired teen almost thought it was Danny's, but that hand was much too muscular to be his so going on the defense she pulled out her thermos, the same one that her ghost fighting friend had in his room. Walking slowly she heard the groan of a male in distress.

"Who is there?" she hissed as she moved toward the edge, her bare feet making no sound on the white carpet below her. Suddenly she stopped, her foot touching something warm and slick. Looking down she was shocked to see blood, red blood tinged with a little green. A halfa. That was who was on the other side of the bed, but there was only two halfas that she was aware of. Danny and Vlad. That glove was Danny's mirror save for the size of the hand occupying it. Dan. That was the only other halfa there was, but he was supposed to be imprisoned in a Fenton thermos in the Ghost Zone. Did he escape? That was the next question and if so then where was his warden, Clockwork? She finally took the final step that would show her the man that had invaded her sister's pristine room.

What she found was both a shock and what she had expected at the same time. There lay Dan, the older twisted version of her beloved friend and yet he was injured, way more than the lamp would have done. His suit was torn in the middle, blood rushing out onto the carpet under him. His skin was lighter than usual and he seemed rather thin for the bulky muscular man he had been. Could you starve a ghost? She shook that thought as she moved closer to him, his eyes flickering. She felt a slight fear for the man before her and yet she remembered how he had been the last time she had seen him. He had tried to kill them and yet he had seemed torn between his memories of them and actually seeing them. The older halfa had even mentioned missing Tucker in his weaker moments. Not flattering, but still it had been a confession.

She had mulled that thought over after he had been contained in the ghost fighter's container, never telling her friends of her thoughts or mullings. Crouching low the raven haired teen moved closer to him, his eyes opening sluggishly, like he was half asleep. His eyes were still red, but unfocused unlike they had been the last time. No, he had been beyond focused, more like obsessed with killing them and making his future stick for good. She reached out to check his pulse and about died when his hand appeared out of nowhere to encircle her wrist. It wasn't a strong grip, but it was firm.

"What are you doing?!" came a shocked whisper behind her. Sam turned to find her sister standing there with her mother and father, the trio looking at her in shock and disgust. Her parents stood on either side of their treasured daughter, their eyes taking in the small woman with a bloodied male holding her wrist while she looked lost. That was how she felt at that moment. Lost. She knew that he was evil and she should contain him, but she couldn't so she decided to tell a little white lie.

"It's Danny Phantom," the raven haired woman stated, her eyes changing to a person that was lost to a teen in love, as if she were her sister and the other popular females with their crushes. "He's been hurt and needs help." Sunshine stepped forward, her teal eyes wide as she looked at the male on the ground. She studied him, her eyes starting with his face, and the Gothic teen could see the disbelief until she saw his uniform. Sam could see that her mind was trying to process. "This is his future self," the Goth pushed. "He's come from the future." When her parents looked skeptical Sam continued. "He did it several years ago. You remember the exams and that terrible explosion?" They nodded as they remembered when the Nasty Burger had indeed exploded almost killing her, Tucker and the Fenton family. Clockwork had made it so they were safe, but he had left the memory in the Amity residents. It was a lesson for most, others it was nothing. Sam had learned a lesson.

"Mom, dad, she's right," the blond twin stated as she pointed to his logo, the one that Sam had made him all those years ago, one that only she was aware of. Danny might have an inkling or something, but he could never link it to her since he had no recollection of that time, well, not all of it. The others made no effort to get down on the ground to help her, but her parents did bring some supplies while the butler, Jeffery was called to move the injured male to Sam's room upon her instruction. After he had been moved she was left to take care of him, her parents and sibling heading off to bed, though Sunshine would be sleeping in a guest room as her room was wreaked. Sam looked down at the male in her bed, his eyes open again, this time mildly alert. She wanted to hit him, to yell at him, but she found that looking into those red dazed eyes she couldn't. Dan was Danny no matter what he had done.

"Don't worry. I won't reveal your secret as I have kept it all this time anyway, but once you are healed you will have to go back." He said nothing, but she knew he heard her.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning came too soon for the Goth since she had been awake most of the night taking care of the male in her bed. She had wondered that he hadn't reverted to another form as Danny did when his energy was low, but shook it off as he was truly a ghost with both the young ghost fighter's ghost half and with Vlad's older ghost half. He could look like Danny if he needed, but had never revealed any other form during the time she had seen him. Jazz had never seen another form either, informing them of the time she had spent with the older male.

Seeing as it was summer as of today, and also the end of teenhood, the Goth knew her friends would be coming to call, how they would do it was the problem. If Danny brought them straight to her room then they would find out about Dan and if they came over through the front door than Sunshine was bound to tell them of the adventure with the ghost boy in her room. Neither idea held good prospects. Walking over to her bed she knew that Danny had the right to know who she harbored in her room, but at the same time she knew he would be hurt and angry that she had aided his enemy, worse still the man who had attempted to kill them all. Still, she couldn't bring herself to turn him away or to tell her friend. He had no one and had been alone for so long against people who didn't understand what he had gone through. Her friends would never see this and it had taken her a long time to come with terms of Dan's life, but she understood. He was a lost soul, someone who like her failed to fit in because of choices and because of his environment.

"Why did you save me?" came a soft male voice, still rough with pain, but soft like a child's tone. She looked up at the head of the bed. Dan looked at her, confusion and anger in his red depths. "You are still as stupid as ever." The Goth frowned, her dark brows drawing close in her anger, but then she remembered that was how he was and there was nothing she could do to change it.

"What does it matter why," she replied. "It only matters that it is done and cannot be undone." He looked at her in shock and bewilderment at her words and tone. He had expected something different. "And once you are healed enough then you will leave. No one need to be the wiser as I am sure you know how Danny would react upon seeing you, much less seeing you in my room." Dan nodded, his face grim. He was sure his younger half would kill him upon sight, not just for being weak with injury, but as she said. He would be rather pissed that his enemy, the one that attempted to kill his loved ones, in Sam's room.

"I don't plan to be here long, hell," he hissed angrily. "I didn't even plan on coming here!" Sam shrugged as she took the bowl with the now lukewarm water to her bathroom where she poured it out. Coming back into the room where he now sat up she pulled up a chair, the bowl in the bathroom drying.

"Why are you here," she questioned before holding up her hand to silence him, a move that made him glare at her, his eyes telling her that and more. "First, how did you get injured?" The halfa male before her almost looked as if he wasn't going to spill, but then a look entered his crimson gaze. It was there only for a moment before his normal shuttered gaze reappeared. "Okay, don't make me mad, Dan. I have had a really bad week so I am in no mood to deal with your shit. I have the right to know why you showed up in my house, and bleeding all over my sister's room!" He continued to glower at her, but he did begin to talk to.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," he spat.

"Try me," was her two word response. He sighed, leaning back, his red eyes closing.

"I was released from the thermos a few years back by Clockwork, seems that he thought I was doing better with my attitude." Sam remained silent, her eyes neutral. "I was just hanging out one day, Clockwork having gone away to some meeting with the Observants when the thing, the future thing or whatever it's called became active." The Goth knew what he was talking about, the same thing they had seen him in. It was the first time they had become aware of his existence.

"Okay, does that happen ver-" she stopped at the look on his face, his eyes open now and glaring at her. "Sorry." She wasn't used to that word, not too often to someone who had planned and tried to carry out an attempt on her life.

"Are you done?" At her nod he continued. "There was an event that was playing out on it and as I was occupied with that I failed to hear someone come into the tower, not that I was expecting anyone but that damned time ghost." The Goth waited, though she wanted to know what could have possibly caught his attention enough to keep him that distracted. Dan and Danny both were the same in that respect. They were not easily distracted unless it was something of utmost importance. "I was struck from behind, but when I turned to see who had struck me I was shocked to find an Observant, his eye just as shocked to see that I could move. I had kept a time necklace on as Clockwork liked to stop time at the most inopportune moments."

"When you tried to sneak up on him, I can bet." He threw her another glare before continuing.

"What got me more was the blasted weapon he was using," Dan stated as he closed his eyes again, the fight in his mind still fresh. "He had that staff, the one that Clockwork keeps on him." Now Sam wasn't so sure about his story, not the part about the Observant, nor the fact that Clockwork had even left him alone in that tower, but that last part was ludicrous!

"Dan, that makes absolutely no sense. Why would Clockwork even let that out of his sight or the fact that the Observant, a creature sworn to watching and not acting, attack?" He sighed again, this time in frustration. He had known she wouldn't believe him.

"It just seems so surreal, but you must understand. Still..." she faded off as she looked down at his healing stomach. He was injured and although the story sounded so far out there she was inclined to believe him. There was no other way, unless he did bodily harm to get to them in some way, but that seemed highly unlikely since Dan wasn't one to hurt himself to gain the upper hand. "Dan, you know what I believe you," she whispered just as the sound of her over exuberant sister running up stairs hit her. "I think that we need to find out what happened before sending you back." His red eyes grew suspicious. "Just because you were evil doesn't mean that I would send you back just so you would be killed."

"Sam!" Sunshine yelled as she rushed into the room. Her clothing was scant, something that the blond liked to wear while the Goth would have cringed just touching it, though she was cringing now. Maybe it was her sister's high pitched peppy voice or maybe it was the clothing, but to the shock of Dan the Goth fisted her hand, her nails hitting skin and cutting. He failed to see the blood, but he could smell it, the tang of it strong to his honed senses. He sneered at the blond before them, her top more of a bra and her shorts more like a pair of panties, barely an outfit and although he had remembered at one time enjoying such a show he found himself repulsed.

"Shine, what do you wa-"

"Your friends are downstairs!" she squealed. It was like being with a child and Sam had grown tired of it early on. Her sister acted like a six year old, had the body of a teen, had the dress sense of a hooker on the street and the mind of an infant! "I told them you had a guest, but I wouldn't te-" The Goth's eyes went wide, her skin going paler than the whitest ghost as she turned on her sister.

"You what?!" It didn't bother her sister as her teal eyes narrowed and she pointed to the door where the trio could hear the sound of the two teens coming up. "Sunshine! You weren't supposed to t-"

"Bring it on," Dan stated causing both teenagers to look at him, the shock on Sam's face making the older halfa slightly worried. He knew what she was thinking and sure, it might be bad that the other male saw him, but he had a plan, one that he hoped would work. Pushing the blond off the bed, his hands burning at the touch, before shoving Sam in the same direction while giving her quick, curt instructions.

Sam rushed out into the hall, the door closing on her sister. "Danny! Tucker!" The pair looked at her curiously as she stood before the door, blocking their way. "You usually aren't around my house this early." There was a reason for that. Sam was usually asleep, but something had made Danny a little nervous so he had decided to come and check up on her. When the door had opened, her sister unusually happy to see them, he had known something was up.

"What's up? I've never known you to be up this early," Tucker pointed out rather bluntly. Sam turned a slight red when she realized that she was still in her black nightgown. She did love how the silk felt on her warm skin, but for her to walk out in the barely covering outfit. That hit her then that she had been with Dan half naked. Cursing she opened her mouth to speak when the door opened and Sunshine walked out. She moved past them, her smile gone, but she still seemed happy as she disappeared into her room. Danny moved past Sam and into the room, his eyes landing on the man in the Goth's bed and his eyes narrowed.

"What the fuck?!"


	3. Chapter 3

Sam rushed in past him, her heart stopping in her chest. That was not what she needed this morning! She had had enough with Sunshine bursting into her room last night and then dealing with Dan, no, she was definitely not ready for Danny and Dan to see each other.

"Dann-" she stopped, her mouth dropping open at the sight before her. There lay Dan, a very human looking Dan, in no shirt, the blankets covering him up to his bellybutton. She closed and opened her mouth, resembling a fish looking for oxygen. It was a shocker, she stood there in shock until she realized that not only was she drawing unwanted attention, but Danny was talking to her. Blinking she felt the blood fill her face.

"Um, Sam, why is there a guy in your bed?" She gave herself a mental shake, her mind quickly coming up with a plan. Nothing came to mind except for one thing.

"He saved me," she muttered. She promptly wanted to smack herself. That was SO not believable! "I was out last night and he saved me from a ghost," she continued, her eyes falling on the still injured male. In his ghost form he could have healed faster, but in this human form she knew it would take longer. She held her breath in that moment, the two males that were her friends looking at her and then at the man on the bed. Dan was older in this form, his twenty something body muscled and toned. At first it seemed that they weren't going to fall for it as Danny's eyes narrowed.

"So, you saved our friend?" he queried as he held out his hand. Dan nodded, though he looked at her questionably. He didn't have red blood like them so what was going to happen if Danny noticed the lack of redness on the bandages? She shrugged at him, her eyes wide in fear and worry. What happened if he noticed that? Dan's bandages were still rather clean looking, Sam having changed them just moments before the pair of ghost fighters had arrived. "Thanks." He shook the older male's hand, but Sam could see that he was really looking at the male in the bed, as if he were trying to figure out some puzzle. "You look familiar... Do I know you?"

"Don't know, do you?" It was a very smartass answer, one that Dan would have said. "I am like, what at least ten years older than you. Why would I hang out with a brat like you?" Danny's eyes narrowed again at the male before him. "But, what matters is that Sam is happy and healthy, right?" It was an about face, but Danny, oh clueless Danny just didn't grasp the sarcasm. His brow lifted, but he seemed to decide to leave it be as he released the other dark haired man's hand. "You are right. How could I know you, but I still feel that we have known each other." Dan shrugged and looked to Sam.

"Um, Da- Dand, you were telling me about how fast you were healing," she pushed, hoping that somehow he would help her out by letting the halfa he wasn't going to be around long. Instead he got this gleam in his eye.

"Oh, I was wrong, it seems the wound is still rather large and besides, didn't you say something about helping catch that bastard?" Sam felt the color leave her face. He didn't just do that?! It came back, the color rising brightly on her cheeks. "Sam says she wants to avenge me, but I couldn't just let her go alone, you know?" Danny nodded throwing a look to his friend, her angry face falling when she realized that she might was well go with his lies because if Danny knew that he was in the same room as Dan, well, you might as well put a cat and dog together!

"Yeah, I did say that. You see," she said coming to stand next to the older halfa, "I owe him my life." Danny nodded dumbly while Tucker seemed to be absorbed in his game, his hands moving quickly.

"Okay," Danny said with a shrug. "What can we do to help?" Dan looked to her, as if to tell her what to do and mysteriously enough she understood. She shook her head at her best friend.

"I have to say no this time." At the hurt look that crossed his face she knew that she had just lied for someone she hardly knew. Someone who had tried to kill Danny! Was it really worth it? She looked at the man on the bed, the wound that was covering the front of his chest. He was never one to lie about something so serious and yet she was basing it as if Dan were Danny. Her halfa friend would never do that, he would never lie. "You are my best friend, but we won't get anywhere with you hanging along. You know how much the ghosts avoid you if they can." It was a fetch, but she was hoping that he would take it.

"Okay, um, if you need me then I'll be ready." He turned and left right then, Tucker throwing her a confused look before following the halfa. Danny wasn't very happy, Sam was sure she had really hurt his feelings. She narrowed her gaze as it fell on Dan.

"Did you really have to go there?" The older halfa smirked, his lack of care making her face grow redder. She hated that bastard! "I am so going to regret this," she muttered. She heard his chuckle and without really thinking of it she found herself in his lap, her eyes flashing dangerously as she leaned up close to his face. She needed him to be sure to stay still so that she knew she had his attention. She had done this to Danny once or twice when he refuse to listen to her. "Listen here, Dan, I am not doing this because I like you, but if what you say is true about the Observant than I want to help." Dan's ice blue eyes were wide. "I wanted Danny to help, but he doesn't need to be caught up in this." She sat back and her own eyes got wide as her face turned red.

"..." Sam jumped up, her feet tangling in the blankets making Sam fall forward and back onto Dan's chest. Her head moved as she looked up at Dan, her heart beating quickly as she once again began to struggle. This time she was freed as Dan touched her shoulder, the Goth becoming intangible as she fell to the floor. Her eyes stayed adverted as she rushed to the bathroom. She failed to notice in her haste the look of complete stupefaction along with a the reddest blush, on Dan's face. He shook his head, his long black ponytail swishing behind him. "Humans... glad I am not one."

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The next two morning were spent with Dan in his ghost form, his injury healing quickly in that time. During that time she took down all that he remembered from the incident.

"What did you see in the window?" she questioned finally. She had for the most part avoided Dan as much as she could, though that was hard when you shared the same room. Sam had pulled her blow up mattress, opting not sleep with the dark haired male. She looked up from her spot on the bed. Dan was feeling better as he sat next to her. He wasn't close enough to touch, but he was still pretty close. It was strange, what had happened two days prior. She still believed that she had imagined. Ghosts couldn't do that! There was no way. She gave herself what had to be the hundredth mental shake that day. She was finding it harder to be around the male, but not because she hated him, no, because Sam had a feeling that she had a thing for him.

And it seemed that he was feeling the same way. He couldn't take his eyes off her, though he tried. He didn't know what to think. The last time he had seen Sam had been that day she, Danny, and Tucker had showed up in his time. He had seen her and though he had felt a slight pull on his cold heart he blew it off. She wasn't the same Sam that he had lost. This one knew nothing!

"Dan, the thing that distracted you." He looked deep in her eyes at that moment and drew a blank. He told her and she dropped her pen. "You can't remember? Dan, you never react like that unless it is import-" Her eyes grew huge. That was it! "The strike after. It made you forget!" He cocked a brow at her. "You must not have been supposed to see whatever it was!" That made perfect sense. That Observant had been there, with Clockwork's staff!

"The staff!" he bellowed. "The staff to go through time!"

"Why would they need to go through time?" the Goth questioned. Dan drew a blank on that too, but they both knew the staff was part of it. What were they using it for though? Sam suddenly grew stiff at the same time Dan did next to her. She didn't want to even utter it, but it was the only thing that she believed they would do it for. She turned to Dan, her eyes questioning his.

"Daniel," he stated, his tone cold. "They want to eliminate it, the cause for me to even exist." Sam couldn't understand. Danny had passed the cornerstone and that was why Dan was without a world. Why would they want to kill him now? "There has to be more to this," Dan stated.

"But what is it?"


	4. Chapter 4

Danny sat glumly at the Nasty Burger, his hamburger untouched before him while Tucker sat across from him downing his food as if it were going to disappear before him. Around them the sounds were deafening, but the halfa failed to hear them as he spaced out on his food before him. Paulina walked by at that point, her arm linked with Dash as the couple headed for a table in the distance. Danny had yet to tell his peers his secret, though his family knew, and he wasn't sure he would ever tell them. At one point he had wanted to tell the Ice Queen, sure that if she found out his identity that she would want to date him, but when he really thought about it he knew it was wrong. All those times that she had claimed to want to be with him had always been about the Phantom side of him.

"Dude, what's wrong?" the dark skinned male inquired as he took another bite of his burger. Though Tucker could be a good friend when it suited him, he was a pretty rotten listener. Sam had always been that person to sit by him and really listen to what he had to say. Hard to talk to Sam about something that had to do with her more and more lately.

"Nothing, just not hungry," he said pushing the tray away. Instead of pushing the point his friend just shrugged and tackled Danny's uneaten food. The halfa sighed inwardly. He missed his friend, but it seemed that she was in good company or that she maybe preferred the older male. Dand? That was such a strange name and yet, he felt that there was more to the story. Sam had said that the male had saved her from a ghost, but the Goth had never had any issues taking a ghost down before so what had changed this time? He thought back to that moment in her room. He had been more concerned with the half naked male in the raven haired beauty's bed than he had in looking at the situation. The male, Dand, had been injured, the bandage across his torso visible, but the halfa couldn't remember a ghost being that violent...

"Hey, look, isn't that Sam's sister?" Tucker inquired pointing the blond out. Danny's blue eyes grew wide. That's what had been off to him. The Goth hated her sister, the pair of them like oil and water. They would never hang out so why had the blond been in the raven haired woman's room?

"Sunshine!" Danny called out, his hand flying up as he motioned to the blond haired female. She looked around and spotting him, amazingly enough came over. Tucker's jaw dropped at the same time as his food. Both watched as she sauntered over, the leggy woman taking a seat next to Danny. "Um, Sunshine, what's up with you and Sam?" At first it looked like she was going to cuss him out and then it was like she got struck, her frown turning into a soft smile.

"What do you mean, Danny?" The techno geek across from him almost fell out of his seat, his teal eyes still as wide as saucers. "We are as we always have been." He shook his head as Tucker leaned forward now, his hands on the table as if to hold him up. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you were in Sam's room and I have never known you to be allowed in there." Sunshine laughed, her voice twinkling as she took a bite of her food. "Seriously, you are normally a..." he faded off only to fall back as Tucker finished the sentence.

"A bitch." The blond looked at him in shock, but didn't get mad, no, she only smiled broader.

"That was before I met him," she whispered as though it were a secret. "He told me that I should be nicer, that being as bitchy as I was to Sam and everyone else, would get me nowhere." She leaned back, a blush on her pale face. "For some reason his words got me to thinking. If a hot guy like that tells me that I can do more in this way, well, I guess I can do it." It was strange to see the normally really mean woman being nice. Tucker looked at Danny and the halfa returned the look.

"So, that's all he said?" Danny inquired. She nodded. Before he could ask her anymore she got up, her eyes fixed on this guy across the room. Smiling at him she bid the two males goodbye before joining the other guy. "That's weird. I have to wonder about this Dand guy..." The halfa looked over to Tucker. "I think there is definitely more to this guy then we thought." Now the techno geek seemed interested as he stood up, ready for action, and threw his trash away. Danny opened his mouth, but Tucker just grabbed his collar and rushed out the door with the halfa in tow. What they didn't notice was the guy with Sunshine was watching them leave, his lime green eyes watching them as they exited. Sunshine was oblivious as she leaned forward, her large eyes watching him intently.

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Sam sighed as she reentered her room, the raven haired male in the bathroom fussing about her disgust with his scent. She could still hear him grumbling, but she was past that now, her mind was still on the fact that he had gotten completely naked in one second with his intangibility, and that he hadn't waited for her to leave the room. She could feel the heat still on her cheeks and knew that she must be the darkest shade of red ever!

"Stupid man," she hissed as she slammed the door only to receive a yell from the occupant. "Whatever." She needed to find out why the Observant had come after Dan and what it all had to do with Danny. There should be no issue between the two, no connection since Dan had no timeline and the younger halfa was past the point where he could become Dan. Or were they looking at it wrong? Danny could only have become Dan if the halfa had lost his loved ones, but if that was the case then why were the Observants after the older halfa and the younger one? It made no sense! "There is something missing!" the Goth muttered as she yanked in frustration at her hair.

"Yeah, you," came a voice. The Goth turned to find a pair of eyes in the corner of her room. The pair of green eyes narrowed at her. "You are the missing piece to securing a Danny Phantom free future." The raven haired woman blinked in confusion. The shadow moved, climbing the walls as it moved toward the bathroom door. Sam took a step back. What was going on here? "Just stay quiet and I promise it will be painless." Amethyst eyes grew wide as she took a step back, the door to the bathroom the only barrier between the ghostly male on the other side and Sam. She didn't know if screaming for help would benefit her when it appeared that her visitor was a ghost himself. He would be faster.

"But if you hurt her, then I would be forced to destroy the world again," came Dan's voice as he grabbed the shadow before them, the green eyes on the creature growing wide before becoming one big green eye. It hit her then that the creature before them was one of the Observants and that it had been planning to kill her. The green thing began to squirm as Dan's fingers grew tighter on his large head. "I knew you would come looking for me, but what I don't understand is why?" The thing clamped it's mouth shut and Sam took a step toward it. She looked rather bemused at it's attitude when only moments ago it had been all bravo like it was a badass.

"Hmm... Dan," she said, her tone mischief. The ghostly male's dark brows rose at her sudden change. Sam smirked as she leaned close to the green eyed ghost. "I don't think he wants to talk, but I know what we could do to make it talk." She walked over to her bed, the older halfa watching her with interest. This was a side that he didn't remember from the times he had been with her, but then again this was a grown up Sam, her small body filled out with the right curves and her once short raven hair falling past her waist. She reached under her bed, her body hiding behind the large bed before she came out with something Dan knew immediately. The Specter Deflector looked the same, the metal belt reflecting in the light that entered the room.

Dan could feel the tingle on his skin from the last time it had been applied to his own flesh, but the Goth had this gleam as she approached the creature who knew nothing about the invention. The Observant just looked at her, his big eye questioning.

"I think that could work," the raven haired male said moving the green creature closer to her. The thing looked at Dan and then at her, his eye telling them all as he tried to figure out if it was going to be bad or not. "Though me having once been human and him, well, I don't know what he was... Would it do worse to him?" She looked to him and he could see that she knew what he was doing.

"I don't know," she said looking thoughtful. They both watched as the creature looked worried, his eye going wider as he thought it over, but before either of them could do anything the time stopped around them and when it resumed Dan and Sam were standing in her room alone. "What the hell?"

"He wasn't the one with the staff," the halfa stated, his ice blue eyes looking down at her. He could read her eyes, the question that lurked in them. "I thought it was just one, but it seems that there might be more and we have yet to figure out what happened to Clockwork." She nodded, her amethyst eyes turning from his ice blue ones. They had no idea what was happening or why... All they had was more questions.


	5. Chapter 5

"So, maybe he's just a really nice guy!" Tucker stated as he ran alongside Danny. "Or just really persuasive!" The halfa didn't buy it. He knew what Sunshine was really like and for her just to turn over a new leaf like that was more than just some man who could charm even the most devious snakes like Sunshine. Tucker wasn't the one that went to help Sam whenever something bad happened at her house, nor was he the one that would listen if something big were to happen. The techno-geek was a good friend, but he and Sam never saw eye to eye with how their personalities clashed.

"I think he's a ghost!" It was a long shot, but how else could he be able to do what he did and then there was the fact that he took a ghost blast while still being able to protect someone. There was no human alive that could take that and still walk away. Sure, Sam might have helped him since she was used to taking hits from ghosts, but a regular guy?! No way! "We need to find out more about this Dand guy!" Was Sam being charmed right now into taking him in? If that was the case then she was in danger!

Next to him Tucker was thinking back to all that he had noticed during their first time meeting the other raven haired man and somehow the geek was under the impression that Sam seemed to know the man and that she was a little uneasy when Danny came in. That meant that Danny had not paid much attention, but remembering his reaction to all the men that had become interested in the small Goth, Tucker thought it had more to do with jealousy. He didn't think she was in real danger, but when the pair rushed into the room moments later they found a site that neither of them thought they could wipe from their minds.

Sam stood before a naked male, their eyes staring intently at the other. Sam looked over at him at the same time as Dan's did. When she saw him, her eyes narrowed in confusion, but as she watched his face change from one of shock to one of anger she looked at Dan only to feel her whole face go red as she gawked at the naked body just inches from hers. How had she not noticed that? Suddenly she found herself pushed back as Danny stood between the pair of them.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" the halfa demanded, Dan's eyes narrowing as he eyed his younger half. Danny just continued to glare at him. "You have to be like ten years older than her and you go flashing yourself at her!" Sam coughed, her eyes growing wider and her face growing hotter. She had to break this up now! She pushed around him, though it was hard with the fact that he didn't want to let her around. Even as she stopped at his side he growled low. It was strange.

"Danny, Dand isn't do anything wrong!" He shot her a look, one that told her how much he believed it. "Seriously! I was just attacked an-" That made his hands drop as he looked at her in confusion.

"You were attacked?" She nodded. "Then why is he naked?!" The halfa motioned to the other male, the one that still stood there unashamed.

"He was in the shower when the ghost appeared from the shadows." She pointed to where he had been. "I didn't have a weapon since I wasn't expecting a ghost to attack in the house." He could see the truth in her eyes, the shock that was still there. "Dand just came out and helped." That was when the halfa realized that the older man was still standing there, but before Danny could lash out Sam blurted out, "God damn it! Get dressed pervert!" The older male shot her a look of shock before walking away, the look in his eyes warning her of what her outburst would cost. Her face grew red. "He hit his head."

"Really? Why no bandage on that then?" Tucker questioned as he nudged Sam. "I also noticed that he didn't have a wound on his chest either, but that might be because of other more healing activities." At that the halfa's eyes flashed green as he shot a look at male in question.

"Tucker!" the halfa hissed as he made eye contact with his friend. The teen looked at him in question just as Sam smacked him upside the head. "Sam, what is your relationship with him?" The Goth started when she heard his question. She wanted to blow him off, but she had no idea how to explain the male in her house without totally blowing up at that was happening.

"She's known me since I was young," came Dan's voice drawing everyone's attention. "We fell out of touch for a few years because of my lifestyle and now I came back. That's the scheme of things, though I was thinking of getting to know her better since I was so clueless in my affections for her." Sam wanted to sit there and gap like a fish gasping for oxygen, but she knew that if this were to work that she would have to stop being so shocked at what left the man's mouth.

"Yeah, Dand knew me as a child, but after a terrible accident he left," the Goth added. Danny looked at Dand, his ice blue eyes really searching. Sam almost wanted to cry. For the first he wasn't being his clueless self and for the first time she wished he would. "As for the getting to know," she started, but Dan interrupted again making the raven haired woman turn red as he told the pair of now red males of how they had slept in the same room and how Sam had attempted to jump him. "I did no such thing!" she burst out.

"Oh, but Sam you jumped in my lap and then lay on my chest for a few moments before rushing off to run me a bath," the raven haired male stated with a slight smirk. He was enjoying himself so much, especially as her eyes glittered to life and her cheeks turned a bright red. For some reason it was just as it had been when they had been younger, the small Goth having quite a temper if you knew which buttons to push. "I loved every minute of it." Sam didn't know what to say at that moment as Danny's eyes flashed green in irritation. She knew what he was doing and although it was giving him happiness she was only seeing that it could blow up in their faces. "Just admit that you enjoyed that time in my lap and I will stop embarrassing you."

"Dand," she ground out, her eyes flashing daggers at him. "I fell on you and then I ran off." Dan just chuckled louder as Danny's jaw dropped. He couldn't believe what he was hearing and then as the male beside him nudged him he realized that he had forgotten why he had come back here.

"I want to know, truthfully, who Dand is," the halfa said turning to Sam. "Your sister just was really nice to us and she is never nice to any of us." Sam raised a brow at the older male. He just smiled.

"Seems that she just needed to hear it told to her by me, I am just that persuasive." Danny was going to point out that Sam must be under his control when she made a noise. He turned to find her laughing, well, trying not to laugh. "What is so funny, Sammy?" At that name the Goth stopped, her amethyst eye growing big. Danny stepped back, his eyes growing wide as well. Tucker followed suit and headed for the door, his time done with the group that were getting a little out of control. He turned to look at Danny, but made no move to get his friend out of there. For one thing it was every man for himself, and for the other Danny wouldn't walk away from Sam. No, the halfa was determined when it came to her and the fact that he believed her to be in the worst company.

"I know you did not just call me that," she muttered. "Da- You haven't called me that in years." Dan looked confused as he also hadn't realized the name had slipped from his lips, but he refused to take it back as he shrugged, as if the name had no meaning. She could see though that he was just as confused about it. The halfa watching them coughed to let them know that there was someone else in the room, someone who had something to say because he used to call Sam by that name too and although she had claimed to hate it he had known differently.

"It was a slip," Dan stated. "Now, what did you need?" he said turning his attention back to Danny while Sam just stood there in silence. She was still stunned at the slip of his tongue. Danny repeated that he had been mildly confused with the behavior of the snotty twin of Sam, that even though millions of guys had courted her only to find out that she was a bitch had never stopped her before. He wanted to know what was different about Dan. "I just have a special quality, one that doesn't always work, but when it does the females act differently."

"So, you didn't use it on Sam?" Dan's eyes grew wide as he looked to Sam. Was there where this was going? Danny thought he had used that power on the Goth? He let out a chuckle. He would have tried it, but Sam was immune to him, her heart still beat for him, as he was the halfa that she loved though he was a different form of the halfa in question. "Why would I do that to her?" he questioned, still chuckling. "As you and I both know she is quite different than most of the female gender. Not a simpering little damsel, not some slimy money grubbing woman, no, Sam would never fall for such tricks." The Goth in question found her cheeks warming under his praise. Dan was being strange, his words not ones that she had ever thought she would hear from the evil man.

"She's smarter than that," the younger halfa stated with a certainty as he realized what Dan was trying to say. Sam wasn't like the others, so easy to control. She was independent and not likely to be swayed. "Sorry," he muttered. Sam walked over to him, her arms coming around him in a gentle hug.

"You have no need to apologize, Danny. You care about me and were worried," she stated as she pulled back. "That's what friends do." It was getting a little too mushy it seemed for Dan who made a gagging sound. The two ghost fighters turned and looked at him, Sam with a glare of warning and Danny just confused.

"Can we get this little love fest over with so we can get back to the root of the issue?" Sam nodded, blinking as she realized that she was getting a little to touchy with Danny. They were friends and she had gotten so drawn in by his emotions, letting hers run rampage like some crazy person. Next thing you know she was going to confess her undying love for him like Helga from Hey Arnold! Giving herself a mental pinch on the arm she stepped back.

"Sorry, Dand and I need to get back to finding out more about this ghost at-"

"Sam, I want to help and refuse to back away. This ghost is after you and you are my..." he faded off, as if he were confused with the wording he wanted. "You are my responsibility." The Goth's eyes narrowed and Danny realized that was not the wording to use with the raven haired woman, but there was no other way to say it without putting his feelings out there. He knew that she wouldn't be happy if she found that he wanted to take their relationship to another level. "I can't just let you do this alone, whether Dand is there to help you or not." Sam wanted to smack him, but she refused to give into that urge. That would make Dan happy and would only cause more issues.

"Okay, ghost boy," Dan said from his spot behind the Goth. "You can help, but I get to give out the orders." Danny looked to the man in shock. He hadn't expected the male to step in like that since Sam seemed to be the one in charge. "Actually, I am in charge. Sam is helping me not just me helping her." He opened his mouth to rebuke it, but Sam nodded, actually voicing that he was in the right and that she had agreed to help him as the ghost had come out when both of them had been out the first time. There was no telling if it was after just Sam or it was after both of them. Though Danny had more questions, one of them being that Dand wasn't a ghost hunter so why were they after him, but he said nothing as Dan began to give him instructions, the halfa's ice blue eyes narrowing in frustration at his task.


	6. Chapter 6

Danny muttered under his breath as he and Tucker sat in the Specter Speeder driving through the Ghost Zone. All around them it was quiet, but not in the Speeder as Tucker blared Ember's one hit over the speakers. It had been bad enough to be ordered around by the dark haired human, but now to be stuck in a small space with Tucker and his horrible singing to a song that made Danny's ears bleed.

"So, what are we supposed to be looking for?" Danny shrugged. He wasn't sure as the male that had given the instructions hadn't really seen the ghost that had attacked them. He just knew that it hadn't seemed to have a legit form. That only left one ghost and that ghost never worked alone as he was part of another ghost.

"As far as I understood he didn't really see who it was, but the description he gave me only matched Shadow, Johnny 13's other half." Tucker's brow rose in question and Danny asked him what was up.

"Well, that's not really true since Amorpho can also change shape, thus becoming a blob." The halfa hadn't really thought of that particular ghost, but only because he wasn't usually one to cause issues like attacking random people. No, that particular ghost was usually just craving attention, not negative attention at that.

"I doubt that he would do something like this, while Shadow is more prone to what could be considered harmful attacks, though I find it weird that any ghost would want to kill a human." Tucker nodded. Danny was right on that account since no ghost, not even Vlad had actually ever made the real move to kill another being. Vlad talked a big game, but he had never taken a real shot at Jack.

"What about Freakshow?" Dark brows raised at his question. "Oh, yeah, human. Sorry." Both looked out at the at the purple and green expanse that was the Ghost Zone. "This is going to take a while since I doubt any ghost is going to come looking for you right now." The halfa nodded.

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Sam shot the male next to her another look. Dan was acting rather un-Dan-like. He was being rather possessive about her and that was strange since he had been the one ready to kill her several years ago. The other thing was how he was being so touchy, like he had to be close to her all the time. She gave herself a mental shake. Maybe she was just imagining things, not that Dan wasn't good looking, but what would happen between someone who had no real place in the world?

'What am I thinking?! That's what I am!' It was true. Sam had no real place in the world as she was just a background player for most of her parts in the role that was life. She wasn't the daughter her parents had wanted, no, that was her sister and then Danny was the ultimate hero while she was just a sidekick! What did she have going for her? She didn't have a particular skill, well, save for singing, but no one knew about that and she didn't plan on telling anyone anytime soon. She did good artwork, but even that was something no one had a real clue about. Sure, Danny had seen some of her artwork, but she had never told him who made it since to her it wasn't that great.

"What are you thinking about?" the raven haired male walking beside her asked. "You look like you have a stream of thoughts swirling in that head of yours." Sam blinked. Dan was being... nice? "Hey, just because I am evil doesn't mean I am a bad person." The smile that he finished it with sent her into a fit of giggles. "That's better!" He pulled her close as they turned a corner. "Now, we need to find out more about the Ghost Zone and if I remember there was a book in that one bookstore you used to hang out in."

"The Skulk and Lurk? You knew about that?" He nodded. He hadn't told her about that since it seemed to be something she did as a release, but he had heard several of her own poems and understood a good portion of them. "How long?"

"During the whole Kwan ordeal," he stated. "Didn't think I noticed how tight you two were?" She made a gagging sound at that. He smiled, well, more of a smirk. "Yeah, sorry about that. Didn't realize I was being that obtuse." Dark brows rose at the odd word. Danny had never been big on words that complex. He was more simple, then again Dan was part Vlad too. That made her shudder and yet when she looked into those ice blue eyes she found that he didn't disgust her that much. "Earth to Sammy, wake up."

"You know I hate that," she muttered darkly, but she couldn't help the blush that warmed her cheeks.

"Actually, I think you like that nickname more than you let on," the older male stated to the shock of his partner. "You always blushed at it and claimed to want to beat me, but I think it was a different kind of beating you had in mind." At that he wiggled his brows, her blush growing deeper. "The funny thing was I think that I knew I liked you, but was so worried about our friendship that I never really told you all my feelings."

"Dan," she whispered as they stopped where they were.

"No, Sam, I know that it freaks you out, but I need to tell you the truth. That incident when Ember hit me, those were my true inner feelings. I just never knew what to do with them." He placed his hands on her shoulders, holding her in place. She had never thought her best friend would say these things, but it wasn't her best friend really. This was a guy who had never gotten all the chances that Danny had had. This was the guy who had only known his affection for Paulina, the one who had only experienced heartache as the Phantom. He was like her in so many ways and yet, she had kissed a guy, gone on a real date while he had lost his family and friends.

"Dan," she tried again. He realized she wasn't going to let him talk so in that moment his mouth came down on her unsuspecting ones and at first she tensed up, but something about his kiss, his inexperienced kiss, made her relax. It was the same as Danny's, as the one that she had kissed during their fake out make out sessions, the one that was cold like ice and yet warm like his human half. This was the same feeling she got when her lips had touched her best friends. She allowed him to pull her closer, unaware that they had an audience as Paulina stopped to gape at them.

"Sam Manson?!" Sam pulled back, Dan glaring over her head at the Hispanic woman. "I can't believe that you have a boyfriend!" Amethyst eyes grew wide as Dan moved to stand before her, his ice blue eyes staring down at the former Ice Queen.

"You mind, just because you don't have a man doesn't mean you need to stare like a voyeur." Paulina sputtered, her mouth unable to form coherent words at his insult. Dan didn't stay long, his arm curling around the small Gothic female's shoulders before heading for the bookstore in the distance. When the Hispanic woman finally managed to find her words they were long gone, the darkened door closing with a ring behind them.

"I can't believe you did that," the Goth stated with a twist of her lips. She was proud of him, but at the same time she was seeing how he wasn't like her Danny at all. It wasn't a bad thing, no, she was glad that he was standing up for himself and more open about his feelings, but the question was... Did that mean that Danny would do that or was having Vlad's ghost giving the older halfa courage?

"She had it coming," came his curt response as he changed, his mood shifting like the tide. He was back to the ghost she knew him to be. "Let's find this book of the Ghost Zone and get back because with every moment I am around these humans the more I feel like blowing this all up." Before she could respond he was gone, looking down an aisle to her right. Sighing she headed for the other end, afraid that her being human would only make him even more irritated. She failed to notice the look on the older male's face and he failed to realize that he had hurt her.

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A few hours later found them not a single step closer to the ghost that had attacked them, even Danny was failing to have any luck. He had contacted them moments ago and there wasn't a ghost in the Ghost Zone. It was eerie since it was usually a bustling community, well, a community of souls. Leaning back on the bed Sam sighed. Dan was still flicking through the book, but he didn't seem too enthralled with the text and images any more than she was. There wasn't much to the book. A few maps, but nothing major.

"Maybe we would be better off getting some info from Danny's computer," Sam stated. "He does have all the ghosts we've encountered so far on his machine." Dan nodded and sat up, stretching his lean and muscular body out. The raven haired woman couldn't seem to draw her eyes from his body, her amethyst orbs checking out the man beside her.

"Do you know the password? It can't still be Paulina Fenton, can it?" Sam didn't hear him at first, her mind still on his body, but in the moment that she realized he had said something she snapped back to reality.

"No offense, but I doubt that he changed the password."


	7. Chapter 7

Thirty minutes later found Sam looking at the screen in frustration. Danny had changed the password! She slammed her head on the desk before her in frustration. How could he have changed it?! The halfa was obsessed with the Hispanic chick! Dan stood behind her, another distraction for the Goth as she was still imagining his hard body against hers.

Damn! She had to stop thinking about that! She really was messed up for thinking of the man behind her in that way! Hell, he was a freaking monster, though his body didn't look like something a monster would have. She felt another shudder, but she knew it wasn't in disgust, unless it was in herself with how she was eyeing the male behind her. "We've hit a snag." Dan suddenly moved her out of the way, quick to make her advert her eyes as he typed something in. Within seconds they were in. Danny's screensaver making the Goth blush as it was her at the beach last year.

She had done something different that year, though she had still worn the cape. She had worn a black bikini that year. He hadn't seemed that interested, but maybe Tucker had been messing with the computer. The male before her made sure his face wasn't showing as he ogled the photo, his red eyes taking in all the skin on the Goth. She was too embarrassed to notice so he took his time taking it all in. He knew he would never see her that naked again.

'What the fuck am I thinking?!' He couldn't believe the thoughts going through his mind at that moment. Sam didn't want him like that and he shouldn't even be thinking dirty thoughts like that! Forcing his eyes to look for a folder, one that he remembered making himself, while moving the mouse around. The only thing was the image wasn't just before him now, no it was in his mind's eye. It haunted him and taunted him with the untouchable image. The Goth behind him seemed to have calmed down, though the heat from her body had gotten closer or maybe she was just warmer? He couldn't tell and he was afraid to ask her for fear of her knowing he could feel that. Sam wasn't one to talk about herself, well, her feelings. She kept that to herself while screaming her ideals. She was an enigma and that was one thing he really liked about her and at the same time made him so frustrated. Sam was one of those people who needed to be shown love, she didn't believe in idle words or phrases as she had heard those a million times over.

"Do you see who it was in that?" she questioned. He looked at the image before him, the mechanical ghost before him the first one to pop up. Shaking his head he changed the image, again a negative. They went through most of them, that taking several hours with all the ghosts that the trio had seen growing up.

"It looked like that," Dan said suddenly, his eyes focusing on the last ghost in the folder. It was Shadow, the creature of Johnny's. "But it looked, more evil, somehow..." he faded off as he looked to her. So, he had seen something after someone in the mirror, but he couldn't remember all of it or he could and he didn't want to tell her. That made sense, right? "It was definitely him, but this guy in the picture wasn't with him. He was alone."

"Strange since I haven't ever seen either without the other..." This was confusing. First the Observant and now Shadow. What was going on with these ghosts!? She shouldn't just be questioning the ghosts, but the fact that Dan was telling her this and yet she couldn't help but believe him. Something just wasn't right! "I wonder how this is all tied together since Shadow is a rogue ghost and the Observants are against those kinds of ghosts...Unless they are after someone, someone they see as a threat." She looked to him now, but it made no sense since the ghost that had attacked him had been after Dan, not Danny. That would be the key to taking Dan out of the picture, but at the same time the pair weren't related since Dan had no timeline.

It was just getting more confusing by the second. She didn't even know where to start- "What if they were trying to make you a reality?" The older halfa looked at her in confusion.

"What?" He couldn't believe that an Observant would want him to become real, no, that seemed so far fetched. "Why though? It makes no sense." Sam nodded. It didn't, but who said it had to make sense. Ghosts could overshadow other ghosts so who's to say that the Observant hadn't been overshadowed.

"Actually it makes a little sense when you think about the fact that they were trying to take you out, but then the other ghost was attacking someone in the mirror. They didn't want you to see that because whoever the other ghost is after would entice you. I don't know which family member they were going after, but for you to react like you did it had to be someone impor-"

"What makes you think that it was one of the Fentons?" The question raised a brow on the Gothic woman's pale face. "I care about my friends too." Sam shook her head.

"You care about us, and I believe that Danny would fight for us, but at the same time I don't believe he could feel the love that he feels for his family in the same way. No, I think that you saw a family member, maybe Jazz, under attack and the Observant didn't want you to see it." Dan didn't want to tell Sam that he had remembered who he had seen, the one person that would make his blood burn in anger if they were ever hurt, but he knew that if he did then that would put her in even more danger. It had been one of the reasons that he had decided to keep her close. He couldn't bear if she were hurt because of him and he knew Danny would freak if he found out that his closest friend was under fire because of a mistake he almost made.

He knew the guy was kicking himself for her almost dying, just as he had when she had been killed in his time. Dan looked up at the woman before him. This Gothic beauty before him didn't realize yet that she had been his undoing, the final straw that had broken his spirit. She had stuck with him over the ghost thing. Bandaging him up at night when she should have been asleep, helping to keep the secret from his parents. She hadn't walked away and he had watched her in this time, through all that she had been through with Danny. The clueless one who had had his powers removed because he had thought they were putting his loved ones in danger. No, it hadn't been his powers. Those ghosts were coming and even if his father's portal hadn't worked, then Vlad would have eventually made one that would.

"Sam, just know this that no matter what happens I won't let you get hurt," the halfa stated. Sam looked into his ice blue eyes, the ones that reflected both her shock and pleasure at his words and knew that Dan would keep that promise, just as Danny would. They stood there in the silence of the room, the only sound their breathing. Neither knew who leaned forward first, but they knew as soon as their lips touched it was meant to happen. They weren't soul mates in the sense that most were, but they were meant to love each other even if they never got to go that extra step, the one that she wanted with one man. As the kiss deepened, the man before her tugged her closer, his hands pulling her into his lap and she came, sliding down just as the sound of a door opening behind them echoed in the room, but it was the voice that had them pulling apart.

"What the fuck?!" Sam looked over her shoulder, her face beet red, her eyes glazed over in pleasure as she looked into another pair of ice blue eyes that flashed bright green for a split second. Dan stiffened, his own ice blue eyes looking at the other male in dislike. He had wanted to do that, had wanted to hold the one woman who had meant more to him than a friend, someone who had been gone too soon.

"Danny!" Sam whispered, her voice husky to her own ears. Dan smirked now, the sound making him feel pride. The halfa before them glared at the other male, his eyes taking in their flushed appearances and the fact that he had seen them in that fucking embrace! "We were looking for th-"

"I don't want to know what you two were looking for! Get out of my house mother fucker!" He was obviously talking to Dan, but Sam took a step toward Dan, her hand falling on his shoulder. Before she could defend the older male Danny was at their side, his hand grasping Sam's slender fingers tightly. "Sam and I need to talk." Dan opened his mouth now, ready to argue that the Goth didn't seem too keen on staying, but the Goth in question nodded, the message in her eyes letting him know it would be alright. Though he didn't want to go he did leaving the pair alone. Danny turned to Sam, his eyes still green.

"Danny, I a-"

"How could he do that?!" the halfa fumed. "He's at least several years older than you!" Sam's eyes grew wide as she realized what her friend was saying. Eyes narrowed she yanked her hand free of his.

"Danny, in case you haven't noticed I am a fucking female and I am free! I like him and he likes me!" Her hands began to fly as she grew more angry. "You're not my damn father, nor are you my brother! I don't see us dating! You are my friend and as a friend you should be more supportive of the fact that I may have found the one that I want to spend my life with!" She almost regretted the words because she and Dan weren't going to be together forever. They couldn't. Sam loved him, but not as much as she loved the man before her, but he wouldn't be hers and she had to live with that. That didn't mean she couldn't have some memories to keep her warm in her elder years. "I'm going to date him and there is nothing you can do to change that!"

Before he could answer she was gone, his own response a mere whisper in the quiet room, one that she failed to hear and he failed to say quick enough.


	8. Chapter 8

Dan looked at the female beside him. Danny had left them, his obvious attitude still making the room tense. Sam had been beyond pissed, her posture letting him know how Danny's words had rattled her. Dan had heard them, his hearing better than a human's... He had to agree that the words the halfa had said hadn't been the right ones, not by a longshot.

"Sorry about that," she muttered darkly. "I don't what he is thinking! I mean seriously!" The older male pulled her to his chest, the only thing he could think of at the moment as the words that he's heard played through his mind. The halfa had been pissed, but the words that had come out of his mouth hadn't been his true feelings. No, the younger male had balked at revealing how he felt until it had been too late to express himself. He shook his head as he looked down at the raven head that just came to his shoulders. She loved the halfa and although she wanted to tell him Sam wasn't one to reveal herself that easily. Her temper sometimes got the best of her, but she also didn't want to lose the one that she was closest to.

He knew that although she had him and Tucker that the small Gothic woman only considered Danny her true friend. Tucker wouldn't do anything for her and although Danny would go farther to please her he also knew when to tell her no. Sam pulled back to look at him and he could see it in her eyes. She was mad at her friend for not supporting her when she had clearly stepped back to let him date Paulina and Valerie! Sure, she had spied, he had also done that, but she hadn't gone to him and said hurtful words. She had been concerned about the fact that Danny had been dating a ghost hunter, one that wanted his pelt like Skulker did.

"Sam, friends fight. Best friends don't hold back, but what he did he did out of love." Sam was shocked to hear such kind words from Dan about Danny. She had thought he hated the halfa, but it seemed that now he was defending him. "No, I don't like him, but he was me at one point so I can understand." The Goth blinked in confusion. It took her a moment to process it.

"But he doesn't feel the way you do," she stated. The male before her shook his head.

"Danny is still at that point of understanding things. You never know what he's thinking." Sam was going to reply when Dan leaned down and captured her lips with his, her mind turning to mush as he pulled her closer to him. Pulling back for only a moment he said, "Time to finish what we started." The Goth smirked with understanding before pulling him back down for a deeper kiss. She clung to him, holding onto his muscular arms as his tongue moved across her lips, asking for entrance and she opened them without hesitation. His tongue moved into her mouth, touching hers as they learned how to French kiss, her first and his. She groaned at the same time as him, her body melting against his firm form as his hands moved down her body. His body was so hard against her in more ways than one and she found that it gave her confidence as his mouth moved from her mouth and across her jaw, tingles of pleasure left in his wake.

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Danny floated around town thinking about the fact that she was with a guy that had to at least be five or more years than her. He hadn't known her to like older guys or for her to date in general. He only knew of a couple of guys and neither had been right for her.

That should be me holding your hand  
That should be me making you laugh

*We're not dating!*

Those words had stuck in his mind for hours now, replaying over and over again. With each time he could feel two emotions. Anger and pain. While it was true they weren't seeing each other he cared about her and had wanted her to have someone she deserved, not some stranger that just showed up out of nowhere claiming that she was helping him! She didn't need a guy that was going to walk around naked in her house or pressure her into sex! Maybe that was part of why he had freaked. They had been on the bed with her straddling him. Danny had felt instant anger, something stronger than when she had dated Elliot. It had burned in his chest and at the same time he had felt it clutch his heart with misery.

He knew how he felt about her and yet every time he should have said something his mind had gone blank. He could see them growing up together, being there when her mother and father had done something to make her cry. Sam was strong, but when her parents failed to understand she would get so emotionally blocked that it would explode. No one had borne witness to those moments except for him. He had been the first and only one that had been there. She had been like a little sister, always there to play with him and then Tucker had come along. The dark skinned male had invaded their group and although he could be a great guy Sam and Danny had been the closest.

That should be me, this is so sad  
That should be me, that should be me

Now he felt that he was losing her. His best friend and other half was walking away. Soon she would find little time for him and her... Something that had happened when she and Elliot had dated. They had spent so much time together that Danny had felt lost without her. That had been weird and then he knew how the Goth had felt to. She was right. She was a female and every woman deserved to be loved, but still...

That should be me feeling your kiss  
That should be me buying you gifts

How had he allowed fear to rule him? How had he allowed that to keep him from telling Sam how he felt? Sure, he had been worried that she would say no and that their relationship would fall apart, but even after all they had been through, like wishing she had never met him, their relationship had only grown stronger. If anything they were closer than they had been in a long while. He straightened, stopping in the skies as the clouds moved past him. Looking back he knew what he needed to do. He needed to let the Goth know how he felt and fuck it if she didn't want to be with him because at least he got it out!

This is so wrong, I can't go on  
'Til you believe that that should be me  
That should be me

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Sam hit the wall with a crash as Dan fought off the Observants that had shown up, a large group of them. It seemed that this time their target was Sam yet again. The Goth quickly stood up, the wall keeping her steady as her vision swam.

"Sam!" he called out. She called back that she was fine as she pulled out the ghost ray bracelet that Danny had given her after their adventure at camp. She began to fire and while she was able to hit most of her targets they seemed to keep appearing. Dan was having a similar issue as he was kept as far from the Goth as possible.

"Dan, do the wail!" she screamed out as she shot another Observant. He shook his head, very much aware of what could happen should he use his ghostly wail. Not only would it blow the monsters attacking them, but the house would come down and Sam would be hurt! He wasn't willing to take that chance with her life. "Dan it's the only way! I'll be fine!" Again he shook his head. "Daaaannnnn!" she screamed as her head was slammed into a wall, her eyes rolling back in her head. The white haired male's eyes flashed a brilliant green as he shoved two observants to the ground while attempting to make his way over to the Gothic female. It was then that Danny burst through the door, his ice blue eyes landing on Dan before narrowing.

"What the fuck?!" At first he intended to charge on the enemy that had almost killed his friends and family when the he noticed where Dan's eyes were. It was as if time stopped, the older male throwing one eyed creatures into walls and ceilings while Sam crumpled to the ground, her form disappearing under the crowd.

"SAM!" the two men yelled in unison as all the observants disappeared leaving behind a motionless Sam. Dan rushed forward, no longer kept back from the love he had just found while Danny just stood there, his feet rooted to the ground. Sam... Sam was dead... she was dead wasn't she? That had been what those things had been after. Those observants...

"Why hadn't I believed her?" he whispered as Dan pulled the woman into his lap, her neck falling back limply. She didn't move, her chest still as she lay there on his legs. "Why didn't I force her to take my help?" He took one step toward the other male, his eyes fastened to the woman in his lap. "Why did this happen?" Dan looked up at him, his green eyes reflecting pain and anguish. Danny was sure his own reflected the same. At that moment Danny fell to his knees as his friend lay motionless before him in his enemy's arms. How ironic...how seemingly unthought of. He would never have thought he would find himself in her room with Dan, both of them morning the death of a love... a love that had never been revealed on his end.

Dan had already experienced it once, only finding out after his Sam had died so for him this was a second blow to his heart. He hadn't thought it would happen again and right after he had gotten to kiss her and hold her close. Not long after they had realized their feelings. His right fist hit the ground, the floor cracking under his rage. When his eyes opened they were red again, his eyes narrowing as he moved Sam's body to Danny's embrace. The halfa looked down at her and then back up at the other male as Dan stood.

"Where are you going?" the halfa asked. "You're just going to walk away?" Dan growled as he shook his head. He didn't have to explain himself, but he could see that Danny was just as hurt as he.

"I am going to the Tower. I am going to kill those bastards." He took off at that moment as Danny sat there with Sam. He didn't want to leave her, but he wanted revenge for her death. Standing he took off, the small raven haired beauty still crushed to his chest. He would follow the other male, but Sam wasn't going to stay at her house. No, she would be safer at his house. While he did that Dan headed for the portal that was kept at Danny's parents' home.


	9. Chapter 9

After laying the small Gothic female on his bed he turned to his sister, the redheaded female sad as she looked at the raven haired woman. She had been in shock when he had come to her.

"Please," he whispered, his words lost. She nodded, laying a small hand on his shoulder in comfort. Turning away from his best friend he took off for the portal below them, door still open after Dan's entrance into the Ghost Zone. Not even hesitating he took off into the green swirling entrance.

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Dan stood in the empty tower, or so it appeared like that as the silence loomed around him. He was still confused as to where the age changing ghost had gone. It wasn't like the old, well, the time changing ghost to just vacate. He was always here, only leaving for the occasional meetings with the Observants that he kind of ruled over. That said, there was that question as well. How had he lost control over someone who had been made not to do things?

"So, you came?" came an unfamiliar voice from around him, the older halfa looking around in confusion and frustration. He wasn't in the mood for games and the confusion of the missing ghost was still brewing in his mind. "I was quite surprised you came when there is nothing you can do."

When you see my face  
Hope it gives you hell  
Hope it gives you hell

"You bastard! Come out here and fight!" Something moved above him, a small shadow moving below him at that same moment, but Dan was stronger than the halfa of this time and was able to tell that his enemy was try to throw him off. Closing his eyes for a second he threw a quick blast above him, the sound of it hitting what had once been flesh causing a small smirk to twist his lips. He would take this bastard down easily. After all it was just an Observant and although he had never seen one shift like the one in Sam's room he was sure they weren't that strong. A yell filled the air as said Observant fell before him, but this creature looked nothing like his brothers. He was human looking, though he was still green like his brothers he was stronger, somehow the halfa could feel this.

"You stupid ghost!" he wailed, his voice that one that didn't match the others either. It was funny though that he didn't curse like the form he was in. He cursed like a child, something that should be easy to take down, well, that was what he thought, but when the male before him stood, and pulled out a very familiar staff Dan felt the color fade from his skin. He had known one of them had had it, but to know that this particular one had it wasn't good. He might have a better idea of how to use it then the others!

"What have you done with the time idiot?" Dan inquired instead. He crouched low, his cape flying around him as he remembered his best friend, the small Goth, laying motionless, her life gone. "Tell me!" The Observant smirked, his shiny fangs revealed as he looked at the staff rather fondly as his own cape moved behind him.

"I retired him," came his smart remark. "He was too soft for the job." He looked to Dan now, his green eyes flickering a light yellow as power blazed around the staff. "After all he let that halfa go free when he should have killed him."

"Then why kill the girl?!" Dan bellowed. "She was the fucking key to that happ-" Then it struck him. They were smarter than he gave them credit for. "You are worse than bastards," he growled as his own ghostly power burst around him.

"You are douches!" came a loud voice from behind Dan. The older male didn't have to turn around to know that it was Danny and that the halfa had heard it all. "You mother fucking douche bags!" he growled rushing past Dan to stand before the other male, the green skinned creature immediately throwing the staff forward, but before he could stop the time in the tower Dan came up from the right, knocking the staff to the ground with a loud clash. "NO!" the smaller halfa growled as he punched the Observant in the face, his green face jiggling like jello as he flew back.

When you walk my way  
Hope it gives you hell  
Hope it gives you hell

Immediately the creature was back on his feet, his green eyes flashing as his eyes meshed into one. Danny's eyes grew wide and Dan made a sound that drew the creature to look at them funny.

"What the fuck?!" the pair of halfa's exclaimed in unison. The creature before them narrowed that one eye and rushed forward, the two men before him dashing to the side as he passed, but he grabbed what he was after, the staff clutched into his green fingers.

"Freeze!" he yelled, the pair of halfas stopping for a second. At first the Observant began to laugh only to stop as Dan looked at Danny, the two realizing quickly enough that they were not frozen... Then those green eyes fell on the one eyed thing with a smirk. "Um...time stop!" it yelled out, the staff just there, nothing happening as he looked at them with fear growing in that one green eye. "Time freeze!" he cried once more before the staff glowed, this time though it flew right out of his hands, flying high in the air before poofing away.

"Hmm... seems that this little thing has lost power it never really had," Dan stated, his voice husky with anger as he began to advance on the now cowering male creature. "In fact it seems that we now have a way to take out our aggression." Danny nodded, a dark look coming into his green eyes, but in that moment something else happened, that green that was the halfa's eye color in Phantom form flickered to red. Neither one noticed, but there was someone there who did.

"Time out!" came a voice, the sound of it echoing around them and stopping all three. The Observant was stopped at the moment he would have rushed out of the door while the older halfa was stopped at the moment he would have leapt after him. Danny, he was paused at the moment it hit him, the pain and the anger reflecting in those red eyes. Out of the shadows walked a rather tattered looking time ghost, his own red eyes narrowed as he walked first to the Observant. He glared at the worker, his hand coming out with his staff to hit the creature over it's head. That was all it took for the thing to retain it's original shape. Letting out a whistle two more of the creatures appeared, but they didn't wear the clothing the other one had. No, the looked more like officers in their attire.

When you see my face  
Hope it gives you hell  
Hope it gives you hell

He said nothing as the took the their fellow Observer away. He turned to Dan, the older halfa looking really pissed off and yet excited it seemed in his haste to grab the offender that was no longer there. Pulling out a necklace, one that gleamed with his initials he threw it on the man that had once been his captive. Dan fell forward and into a wall to the amusement of his former warden.

"What the hell?!" he growled turning to find the time ghost before him. He would have been happy to see the male, truthfully, but with the death of Sam still fresh he growled again and lunged at the one that had been absent in that moment. He had known, like Clockwork, that it would happen, but he hadn't known when it would happen!

"I know that you are mad, but I can help her," the time ghost stated. "But it comes at a cost." Dan wanted to tell him that with everything there was a price, but the words stuck as the time ghost's words echoed in his mind. He could help the dead woman...could bring her back... He looked to find Danny still there, his red eyes catching the older male's attention.

"His eyes," the older male stated. "Those are my eyes." The time ghost nodded. Nodding, Dan turned to Clockwork. "Just remember that I am not doing this for him," he spat. The now child time ghost smiled in understanding. "What is the cost?" He knew what the ghost was going to say and even if the price was that he was willing to do it. Sam had truly been his other half. She had never stopped caring even when he had become a halfa... even when he had said things that he wished with all his life he could take back.

"You should go to her," he stated. "Take this." He pulled something out from his cloak, a container, a vial as small as a quarter. "You drink this and then you give her a hug...or kiss if it so suits you. Something that brings you in direct contact with her." Dan took the item, his hands shaking slightly. He wasn't going to admit that he was feeling a little emotional. That wasn't him, but he wasn't who he had been before either. Sam had changed him back just as it had been her who had kept him going. A smirk twisted his lips. Ironic that her death had kept him going, though destroying his town hadn't brought her back...

Taking off he forgot the younger halfa that was still suspended in time, though Clockwork turned toward the other male before floating over to him. As Dan disappeared into the Ghost Zone Clockwork pulled out another necklace, but he didn't put it on the other halfa. He began to talk, his words soft, but he knew that the halfa could hear him. Even those suspended in time could hear the words being spoken around them.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Dan flew to the room where he knew the Gothic female lay. He had known that the halfa wouldn't leave her where her parents would find her. Sighing he saw the redhead sitting in a chair, her teal eyes flying to meet his green ones. He would revert to his human form, but he figured this was who he was and that was who should be there to do what he was about to do.

"Dan?" the redhead said, her eyes growing wide. That had been the last one she had expected to come through the door and although she wanted to stop him she could see that he wouldn't allow it. That he had come to see the dead woman that lay in Danny's rumpled bed. Watching he kneeled beside the bed, his white cape flooding like a waterfall behind his back and over his boots. He pulled out the vial, his eyes feeling the sting of tears. He wanted to wipe them away, but he wouldn't. Taking the whole thing down in a single gulp he looked at Sam, his mind working on the way he wanted to hold her...to be close to her...for the last time. Taking a deep breath he leaned in, his lips settling on her own lavender lips as he pulled her to him in a hug.

It was at that moment that Danny entered, his red eyes flashing daggers at the male before him. He began to walk over there, but in that moment Sam opened her eyes, the soft amethyst gaze dazed as she stared at the man pulling away from her. She tried to move her lips, but as soon as her lips opened the man before her said the words that she had wanted to say, the three words making her eyes tear up.

"Goodbye," he whispered as his own body began to fade, his green eyes flashing to ice blue as his ghost form faded from him and then his human form vanished... The air in the room cold and then back to normal as his form faded away leaving a shocked Sam, Jazz, and Danny.

"Sam!" the halfa exclaimed rushing to her, her eyes falling on his and he saw the sadness, but in that same moment he saw the love she had for him as she was able to yank him down for a hug, her slender arms still slightly cold. He pulled her into his arms as Jazz snuck out. Giving her a smile as he pulled back he told her the words that she had longed to hear from him, words that had been too late for him as they had when the last time she had been in his arms had been after her life had been taken. Now he had the chance, the second chance that he had been given only because his enemy had been willing to forfeit his life for hers.

"I love you too, Danny!" she said, her heart beating wildly in her chest. He pulled her back to him, his lips crashing onto hers as he put all his heart into that kiss, that one that was full of joy that she had lived, that was full of anger that she had even been taken and all so many more emotions.

Neither of them would forget that the one ghost, the one enemy that had once been friend, would be the one that sacrificed himself for their happiness.


End file.
